A conveyor belt and an attachment element that firmly interlocks into a row of the conveyor belt. In one version, the attachment element includes a base from which two sets of hook-shaped appendages extend. The appendages each include a shank portion extending from the base and a hook portion angling from the shank portion to a distal end. The hook portions of the first set extend in different directions from the hook portions of the second set. belt modules in the interconnected rows of the conveyor belt have receptacles that open onto an outer surface of the belt. The receptacles are shaped to receive the differently-directed appendages. Blocking surfaces bounding the receptacles constrain the differently-directed appendages against removal. In another version, the attachment element includes a flange that extends outward in a different direction from a set of appendages. The appendages are constrained from exiting the receptacles by the blocking surfaces when the flange contacts an outer blocking surface of the belt. The geometry of the appendages, the receptacles, and other belt structures admit the appendages during insertion from one direction in an assembly condition of the belt, but lock the attachment element in place when the belt is in an assembled conveying condition.
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29. An attachment element for a conveyor belt, comprising:
an accessory portion; a base extending along a side of the accessory portion; a set of hook-like appendages extending outward from the base; and a pair of flanges flanking the set of hook-like appendages and extending in a direction different from the hook-like appendages.
25. An attachment element for a conveyor belt comprising:
an accessory portion; a base along a side of the accessory portion; and a set of appendages including a shank portion extending from the base and a hook portion extending from the shank portion opposite the base; and a contact member extending from the base in a different direction from the set of appendages.
24. A conveyor belt comprising:
a plurality of rows of belt modules hingedly linked end to end into a conveyor belt having outer belt surfaces; at least some of the rows including belt modules having structure forming a series of receptacles spaced apart across the width of the row and opening onto an outer belt surface; an attachment element including a basal flange and a set of hook-like appendages, wherein the appendages include a shank portion extending from the attachment element and a hook portion angling from the shank portion; and wherein the receptacles are shaped to admit the appendages along an insertion angle for which the basal flange element avoids contact with the outer belt surfaces of the row and to block the appendages from removal when the basal flange contacts an outer belt surface.
1. A conveyor belt comprising:
a plurality of belt modules and hinge pins forming a plurality of rows of belt modules hingedly linked end to end by hinge pins into a conveyor belt having outer belt surfaces; at least some of the rows including blocking structure and one or more receptacles opening onto an outer belt surface, the receptacles bounded at least partly by blocking surfaces formed in the belt modules; an attachment element including a set of appendages and a contact member, the set of appendages extending outwardly from the attachment element, wherein the attachment element is firmly attached to the conveyor belt with the set of appendages inserted in the receptacles and constrained by the blocking surfaces while the contact member of the attachment element is in contact with the blocking structure.
15. A conveyor belt comprising:
a plurality of rows of belt modules hingedly linked end to end into a conveyor belt having first and second outer belt surfaces; at least some of the rows including belt modules having structure forming a series of receptacles spaced apart across the width of the row and opening onto an outer belt surface; an attachment element including a rigid base and first and second sets of appendages, the sets alternately arranged to extend from the base to distal ends, wherein distal ends of the first set of appendages extend in one direction and the distal ends of the second set extend in a different direction; and wherein the attachment element is firmly attached to the conveyor belt by inserting the first set of appendages into the receptacles in a first module of a row and by inserting the second set of differently-directed appendages into the receptacles in a second module of the row.
31. A conveyor belt comprising:
a plurality of belt modules and hinge pins forming a plurality of rows of belt modules hingedly linked end to end by hinge pins into a conveyor belt having top and bottom outer belt surfaces, wherein each row generally defines a plane in a conveying condition of the belt and wherein each row deviates from a plane in an assembly condition of the belt; at least some of the rows including blocking structure and one or more receptacles opening onto an outer belt surface, the receptacles bounded at least partly by blocking surfaces formed in the belt modules; an attachment element including a set of appendages and a contact member, the set of appendages extending outwardly from the attachment element in one direction and the contact member extending in a different direction, wherein the set of appendages is insertable into and removable from the receptacles in the assembly condition of the belt and wherein the dual interaction of the set of appendages in the receptacles with the blocking surfaces and of the contact member with the blocking structure retains the attachment element firmly in place in the conveying condition of the belt.
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This invention relates generally to modular conveyor belts hingedly linked by hinge pins and, more particularly, to non-integral attachments in such conveyor belts.
Conveyor belts are widely used in many industries to transport articles. In the food and beverage industries, modular plastic belts, or chains, are often used because of their cleanability and their ability to operate with little lubrication. The modular belts are generally constructed of a plurality of rows of belt modules arranged side by side to form a belt row. The modules silo include hinge elements at each end. The hinge elements of consecutive rows are interleaved and interconnected by hinge pins to construct a conveyor belt of any desired length and width.
Usually, these belts form generally flat-top article-conveying surfaces. But some applications require accessories that deviate from the flat article-conveying surface. Sideguards, flights, rollers, holddown tabs, guides, and various inserts are just some examples of accessories added to belts to perform various functions. Flights that extend across the width of a belt at regular intervals are often used in transporting articles up or down inclined paths. Often the flights are integrally formed coextensive in width with an interleaved module to form a flighted module. Regularly spaced belt rows are then formed entirely of flighted modules to construct a belt with flights extending across the width of the belt at regular intervals.
As long as the integral flights do not extend beyond the sides of the module and do not include any complicated contours or openings, relatively simple molds can be machined to form flighted modules in an injection molding process. Otherwise, the mold can be expensive and difficult to use properly.
One shortcoming associated with integral flighted modules is that they must be made in a separate mold and represented by a separate part number from those of the standard non-flighted belt modules with which they are interconnected to form a conveyor belt. Another shortcoming is that, once a flight is damaged, the entire flighted module must be replaced.
To solve this last problem, detachable flights have been used. But these usually require attachment to a specially designed base module with a specially designed receptacle for the flight. Or the flight must be attached to some extra retainer, such as fastener hardware that could come loose and contaminate the conveyed product.
To overcome these shortcomings, there is a need for a conveyor belt that accepts accessory attachments of various configurations, including complicated topographies, without necessarily requiring special receptacle modules and without requiring additional fastening hardware.
This need and others are satisfied by a conveyor belt and attachment element having features of the invention. The conveyor belt is constructed of a plurality of belt modules and hinge pins arranged in rows. Each row includes one or more side-by-side belt modules linked at leading and trailing ends to another row by hinge pins. The resulting belt has first and second, for example, top and bottom, outer surfaces. At least some of the rows include blocking structure and one or more receptacles opening onto an outer belt surface. Blocking surfaces formed in the belt modules form at least part of the boundaries, or walls, of the receptacles. An attachment element includes a contact member and a set of appendages. The appendages, which are preferably hook-shaped, extend outward from the attachment element. When appendages are inserted in the corresponding receptacles and the contact member is in contact with the blocking structure of the row, the blocking surfaces constrain the appendages to keep the attachment element in place in a conveying condition of the conveyor belt. This dual interaction of the appendages with the blocking surfaces of the receptacles and the contact member with the blocking structure locks the attachment assembly in place. In the conveying condition, each row of the belt generally defines a plane. In an assembly condition, one or more rows deviate from the planar configuration. The assembly condition can be achieved, for example, by removing a hinge pin from one end of a row of side-by-side modules. In the assembly condition, the dual interaction is absent and the appendages can be inserted into or removed from the receptacles.
In one version of the conveyor belt and attachment element, the contact member on the attachment is realized by one or more of a second set of appendages alternately arranged along the attachment element with the first-mentioned set. Each set is differently directed and can be inserted into or removed from the receptacles only in the assembly condition of a belt row.
In another version, the contact member is a hooked-shaped appendage that contacts a hinge pin's lateral surface, which serves as blocking structure and acts in tandem with blocking surfaces bounding the associated receptacles in the belt row to keep the appendages firmly in place.
In still another version, the contact member is a flange extending outward from the attachment member along its base. The first or second outer surface of the belt row serves as the blocking structure. In the assembly condition of the belt, the flange is out of contact with the blocking structure, and the attachment member can be inserted into and removed from the belt. In the conveying condition, the flange contacts the outer belt surface and, together with the interaction of the blocking surfaces of the receptacles with the appendages, keeps the attachment member in place.
The appendages, in a preferred version, include a shank portion extending from the attachment element with a distal hook portion angling away from the shank portion. The angle at which the hook portion extends from the shank portion determines the insertion angle at which the attachment element is oriented for its appendages to be inserted into and removed from the receptacles.
These various versions of attachment schemes allow for a variety of attachment elements with accessory portions of various functions and topographies to be incorporated into standard belt modules. The attachment elements can be tailored to the application or replaced when they are damaged or wear out without replacing the entire belt. The dual interaction of the appendages with the blocking surfaces and of the contact member with the blocking structure ensures a firm connection of the attachment element to the belt without extra fasteners that could come loose and contaminate conveyed products.
These and other advantages, features, and aspects of the invention are described in more detail in the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, in which:
The belt modules include structure 28 that forms a series of receptacles 30 opening onto a first outer surface 34--in this example, a top surface--of the belt. (In other versions of the belt, the receptacles open onto a second outer surface 35, such as a bottom surface of the belt.) As shown in the example of
An attachment element 36--in this example, a flight--is attached along one row of the belt. Because the flight shown extends past the width of the belt, it would be difficult to make such a flight integrally molded with the belt modules. The attachment element includes an accessory portion 38 (the flight portion) and a preferably rigid base 40 along a side of the accessory portion. Extending from the base, better shown in
As shown in the cross-section of
The attachment of the attachment element 36 to two adjacent side-by-side belt modules 16, 17 is shown in
Another version of attachment element is shown in
Another version of attachment element is shown in FIG. 8. This attachment element 74 includes a flighted accessory portion 75 and a planar base 76. The accessory flight has a front article-contacting surface 78 supported by ribs 80. A set of hook-shaped appendages 82 extends outward generally perpendicularly from the base. The appendages are similar to those of the previous versions. The hook portions of all the appendages angle from the shank portions in the same direction. A nub 87 formed on the shank portion of the outermost appendages near the base removes play in the receptacles and helps stabilize the attachment element in place. Also extending from the base of the attachment element are flanges 84, 84' that flank the appendages and form a contact surface 85, 85' generally perpendicular to the outwardly extending appendages and coplanar with the base.
The attachment element is inserted into a belt row as shown in
Thus, the conveyor belt and attachment elements described provide an attachment element with any number of custom characteristics that can be firmly attached to a standard belt row.
The invention has been described with respect to a few specific versions of conveyor belt and attachment elements, but other variations are possible. For example, the contact member of an attachment element could contact blocking structure in another belt row. As another example, each row could include multiple attachment elements with blocking structure that could interact too in a conveying condition of the belt to block their removal. As yet another example, each row could be constructed of a single flexible belt module capable of being twisted from a generally planar shape in a conveying condition to a non-planar shape in an assembly condition with hinge pins removed to permit the attachment element to be inserted into or removed from the row. As these few examples suggest, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other versions are possible without materially departing from the novel teaching and advantages of the invention. The invention defined in the following claims is not meant to be limited to the examples described in detail.
Straight, Michael R., Verdigets, Christopher J., Klein, Richard M.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Mar 07 2001 | STRAIGHT, MICHAEL R | LAITRAM CORPORATION, THE, A CORP OF LOUISIANA | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011612 | /0023 | |
Mar 07 2001 | KLEIN, RICHARD M | LAITRAM CORPORATION, THE, A CORP OF LOUISIANA | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011612 | /0023 | |
Mar 07 2001 | VERDIGETS, CHRISTOPHER J | LAITRAM CORPORATION, THE, A CORP OF LOUISIANA | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011612 | /0023 | |
Mar 08 2001 | The Laitram Corporation | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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